Blessing

May the Lord bless you
and keep you;
may the Lord show his face to you
and have compassion on you!
May he turn his face to you
and give you peace!

Amen.

St. Francis’ Prayer in Praise of God Given to Brother Leo

You are holy, Lord, the only God, and Your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong.
You are great.
You are the Most High.
You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth.
You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good, Lord God, living and true.
You are love.
You are wisdom.
You are humility.
You are endurance.
You are rest.
You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches, and You suffice for us.
You are beauty.
You are gentleness.
You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender.
You are our courage.
You are our haven and our hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, Great and Wonderful Lord, God Almighty, Merciful Savior.

Prayer of St. Francis
Before the Blessed Sacrament

We adore You,
O Lord Jesus Christ,
in this Church and all the Churches of the world,
and we bless You,
because,
by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world

At first?glance, the San Damiano crucifix gives the impression that Christ is merely standing before the cross, not hanging from it in agony. After all, Roman crucifixion was an ugly form of torture that left the condemned hanging from their arms by their own weight to die a slow death of suffocation. Some of the condemned were tied to the cross with ropes, and, in certain cases, as with our Lord, nails were driven through wrists and ankles to grind against raw bone, setting nerves afire with searing pain.

And yet here, in this image, Christ seems to be almost serene. What, then, could be the reason for such an odd depiction of the central mystery of Christian faith?

Well, look a bit closer and notice the background scenes that actually define the shape of the cross.

First, behind the center of Christ?s body, you can see the figures described in John 19:25?27: on the left, his mother Mary along with John himself, and, on the right, first his mother?s sister Mary the wife of Clopas, then Mary of Magdala, and then the centurion who proclaimed, ?Truly this man was the Son of God!? (Mark 15:39). The smaller figures depict the soldier Longinus on the left with his spear, and on the right the man who put the sponge soaked in wine to Christ?s mouth. This central part of the image therefore depicts the mystery of the Crucifixion.

But now look at the arms of Christ. What do you see behind them? That long, dark, rectangular area is Christ?s tomb. But not just the tomb?the empty tomb. Notice the four angels along the bottom and the figures of Peter and John, as described in John 20:2?10, peering into the emptiness with amazement. This part of the background, then, represents the mystery of the Resurrection.

Finally, look at the T-shaped area above Christ?s head. There you can see Christ rising up into heaven; above his head the hand of the Father gives his blessing. For here, at last, is the culmination of his earthly mission and his return to his place at the right hand of the Father: the mystery of the Ascension.

So the entire San Damiano crucifix depicts not just the fact of the crucifixion, but it depicts the three mysteries that reside behind the crucifixion. To the world, the cross is a stumbling block and foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23); but to the eyes of faith the cross is the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension, in their full simultaneous reality.

This image, of course, is the image that converted Saint Francis from a life of self-indulgence to a life of total obedience to God?s will.

Francis learned to rejoice in the overwhelming beauty of God?s creation?a beauty signfying God?s love?yet he did not desire anything of the material world for his own fulfillment. Instead, he desired nothing but to receive our Lord with a pure heart and chaste body.

And, as he showed through the rest of his life, Francis fully understood the reason for the odd depiction of Christ?s serenity upon the San Damiano crucifix. For when someone accepts injustice, cruelty, and contempt with patience, without being ruffled and without murmuring, and endures it all with charity and total faith, what else can we call it but perfect joy? And so, right from the beginning, Francis understood that the ?background? to all human suffering must be total faith in the ultimate triumph of the Cross.

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For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

Several years ago a priest friend of mine wrote the following mediation while setting up his manger scene and I would like to share it with you:

I think you should consider the words: “For unto you ….. ” in Luke 2:11. As I was putting up my nativity set these three words sprung out at me “For unto you … ” Yes Lord how I need your holy nativity. The visitation of Elizabeth and Mother Mary confirms life is precious in God’s eyes. You and I take our assigned places in God’s providence; mine to stand and offer the sacrifice of Christ’s blood and body for the remission of our sins.

Yet look how low the Son of God stooped to make our salvation possible.  A cave and a manger for the Lord of Glory to visit this sin cursed world!  A cave that only allows me to bow before his presence to enter in. I held the twig twisted manger that was to be the Lord’s bed. Even poor me, divested of all this world holds dear, is welcome to kneel and adore Jesus!           

The two little lambs pointed their faces at the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Our Jesus offers us the sacrifice of the Mass so we will never forget the high cost of our redemption.

The donkey in the corner of the manger gladly bore the weight of the blessed Mother to carry her to Bethlehem meaning the “house of bread”.  Yes, Jesus is our living bread that came down from heaven to heal our sinful souls and prepare us to enter heaven.

There is Joseph who suffered much to see God’s holy will fulfilled in the birth of God’s Son. Our life, like Joseph’s, is mixed with buffeting and blessings. God gave Joseph great graces to carry lives challenges and that grace and mercy is renewed to us each day.

There is the blessed Mother dressed in blue; God graced her to be the door that will open God’s heaven to those that love her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. I prayed the joyful mysteries before the manger and I felt my sorrows flyaway like little birds.

There is the little boy kneeling in awe before the baby Jesus and the wonder of the angel’s song still fills the air. The angel announces “Glory to God in the Highest” and indeed the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father shines brightly in the dark of night.

There is the cow providing much needed heat for the new born Christ Child. To the left are three camels and the three wise kings with their gifts, kneeling in worship before the Savior. To the right are the shepherds, the common working men who labor to provide for their family’s needs. They saw the heavens lit up with the angels from the throne room of God’s heaven and heard the Gospel proclaimed. God’s love was wrapped in the babe of Bethlehem for people of every kindred, tongue and nation of the world!

What place would we take in this manger scene? For me I am like the donkey bearing the many burdens of those in great need at Christmas. Yes the world may consider me an ass but that is only because they refuse to follow me to Bethlehem and see what has come to pass.

Yes, you must allow the light of the star to lead you to the Savior’s crib and adore and worship the King of Kings and Lord of lords.

Glory to God in the Highest! 

Fr. JFB

Of all the Christmas decorations we so lovingly place around our homes, the one that is indispensable as it is central to the meaning of Christmas, is the Creche or Nativity Scene.  The Christ Child in the manger and other pictures of the story of Bethlehem have been used in church services from the first centuries. But the crib in its present form and its use outside the church originated with St. Francis of Assisi. Through his famous celebration at Greccio, Italy, on Christmas Eve, 1223, with a Bethlehem scene including live animals, he made the crib popular. Since then it has been a familiar sight in Christian homes all over the world.

The Christmas Creche was the inspiration of St. Francis of Assisi. For the Saint, Christmas had always been the Feast of Feasts, yet he did not think it had been celebrated as it could have been, The poverty of Christ had become lost in the extravagance of the Christmas festivities An idea occurred to him and while on a visit to Rome, he received permission from the Pontiff to put his idea to work.

The story of how St. Francis of Assisi “invented” the crib is so delightful and inspiring that it might be told or read to the children every year. We give here the account in the very words of Brother Thomas de Celano, who was there when it happened and who wrote it down:

Blessed Francis called a friend about two weeks before Christmas and said to him: ‘If you desire that we should celebrate this year’s Christmas together at Greccio, go quickly and prepare what I tell you; for I want to enact the memory of the Infant Who was born at Bethlehem, and how He was deprived of all the comforts babies enjoy; how He was bedded in a manger on hay, between an ass and an ox. For once I want to see all this with my own eyes.’ When the good and faithful man had heard this, he departed quickly and prepared in the above-mentioned place everything that the Saint had told him.

The joyful day approached. The Franciscans were called from many communities. The men and women of the neighborhood, as best they could, prepared candles and torches to brighten the night. Finally the Saint of God arrived, found everything prepared, saw it and rejoiced. The crib was made ready, hay was brought, the ox and ass were led to the spot and Greccio became a new Bethlehem. The night was radiant with joy. The crowds drew near and rejoiced in the novelty of the celebration. Their voices resounded from the woods, and the rocky cliff echoed the jubilant outburst. As they sang in the praise of God, the whole night rang with exultation. The Saint of God stood before the crib, overcome with devotion and wondrous joy. A solemn Mass was sung at the crib.

The Saint was dressed in deacon’s vestments, for a deacon he was [out of humility, St. Francis never became a priest, remaining a deacon all his life]. He sang the Gospel. Then he preached a delightful sermon to the people who stood around him, speaking about the nativity of the poor King and the humble town of Bethlehem.

The parishioners and pilgrims who came to Greccio for Midnight Mass and witnessed the Christmas manger scene were much impressed with the simplicity of St. Francis’ creche and it was from there that the tradition took hold and spread around the Catholic world.

The post Meditation on the Christmas Creche; Origin from St. Francis first appeared on AirMaria.com.

“Pray that my love will be without limits.”

–Saint Maximilian Kolbe in his last letter to his mother.

St. Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941) Priest and Martyr

Patron of the Franciscans of the Immaculate

St. Maximilian wrote: To bring about the purpose of the M.I. (Militia Immaculatae) as soon as possible, to conquer for the Immaculate the entire world and every single soul that now lives or will live till the end of the world, and through her to win them for the Sacred Heart of Jesus! In addition, we are to be watchful lest anyone remove the Immaculate’s standard from a soul; but rather to deepen constantly in souls their love for the Immaculate, to tighten the bond of love between them and her, so that they may become one with her, so that she herself may live and love and act in them and through them. Just as she belongs to Jesus and to God, so every soul will belong to Jesus and to God through her and in her in a much more perfect manner than would be possible by not going through her or without her, if, indeed, that were possible. Then souls will love the Sacred Heart of Jesus as they have never loved him up to now, because like her they will plunge more deeply than ever into the mysteries of love: the cross and the Eucharist. The love of God will be enkindled in the world through her, will set it on fire, and there will take place the “assumption” of souls through love.

When will all this happen, that is, the divinization of the whole world in her and through her? There is one primary and essential condition: that those whose duty it is to labor [in Cities of the Immaculate] should themselves give the example. To understand this spirit they themselves must be impregnated with it. To become instruments of the Immaculate so that she herself may be the one who acts, they must consecrate themselves to her with no restrictions. They themselves first of all must belong to her and live out their unlimited consecration to her, draw the bonds of love uniting them to her more tightly, become one with her so that she may act through them and in their souls. This is the essential condition. She will act through them only in the degree to which they belong to her. Therefore nothing can remain that comes from themselves. They must belong to her limitlessly.

If they do not offer a well-founded hope that they desire to aim constantly for this goal, they cannot make their profession at Niepokalanow. This is why the Statutes of the M.I. are obligatory beyond the Rule and the Constitutions. These must be studied in depth and made part of their lives. This is the essential content of the spiritual preparation to be given to the workers. Under this aspect a deeper understanding of the Rule and the Constitutions is also necessary, so as to reinforce as fully as possible one’s total consecration to the Immaculate: our will through holy obedience, our body through chastity, our convenience through poverty. Everything is for the purpose of becoming an instrument in her hands in as perfect a manner as possible.

No fixed formula exists. The better one understands this unlimited characteristic, the better it would be.

The second condition is to wear the Miraculous Medal. This is an “integral” condition, something complementary (not essential). We wear it because the Immaculate recommended this and has promised her protection to those who do so. We sorely need that protection. Experience shows that when the devil wants to lead someone astray, the first thing he does is to make him look for some pretext to lay aside the Miraculous Medal. How powerful is the Immaculate’s protection!

This is therefore an important condition, an “integral” one, even if not “essential” If it should happen, because of individual circumstances, that there were no more Miraculous Medals, the MI would not cease to exist; the medal is an external sign of our total consecration to her.

By these conditions (the first of which is essential), we unite ourselves to her, we become her instruments, we belong to her and become one with her. The act of consecration of the MI. explains these ideas. The means are those which she herself wishes to be used. During the apparition of the Miraculous Medal, she dictated an ejaculatory prayer, so this is our prayer and in it we include all men. She gave us the Miraculous Medal, so this is our weapon with which to strike hearts. In addition, any other means, provided it is licit, can be used, anything that zeal and prudence suggest-in a word, whatever love commands us, a love without limits-whatever this beloved Mother of ours, Mother of the whole world and of each and every soul wishes to do by our instrumentality.

All inventions should first of all be at her service and then promote other purposes: art, literature, the theater, the cinema, publications, journalism, radio, etc., etc. But before everything else we ourselves must be hers, even to the complete annihilation of our ego, to a personal holocaust, total, unreserved, without limits (“penance, penance, penance”). So then everything is given [to her]: soul, body, all the faculties of the soul and the powers of the body, talent, energy, knowledge, etc…everything! Everything:  the past, the present and future, life, death, eternity…in a word, everything without even the slightest, tiniest reservation. 0 Immaculate Mother, glory to you for all ages!

Novena Prayer to St. Maximilian Kolbe

(pray for 9 consecutive days)

O St. Maximilian Kolbe, faithful follower of St. Francis of Assisi, inflamed by the love of God, you dedicated your life to the practice of virtue and to works of charity. Look kindly upon us who devoutly confide the following petitions to your intercession: (here mention your specific requests).

Having consecrated yourself to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, you founded the Militia of the Immaculata (MI) Movement so that the Blessed Virgin might lead countless souls to holiness by inspiring them to do good, avoid evil, and spread the Kingdom of God. Obtain for us, through her, the grace of drawing many souls to Christ.

In your close conformity to Our Divine Savior, you reached such an intense degree of charity that you offered your life to save that of a fellow prisoner. Implore God that we, inflamed by such ardent charity, may, through our faith and good works, witness Christ’s Love for the world and thus merit to join you in the blessed vision of God. Amen.

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September 17th: The Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi

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The Tradition of the Christmas Crib

Following a beautiful and firmly-rooted tradition, many families set up their crib immediately after the feast of the Immaculate Conception, as if to relive with Mary those days full of trepidation that preceded the birth of Jesus. Putting up the crib at home can be a simple but effective way of present­ing faith, to pass it on to one’s children. The crib helps us contemplate the mystery of God’s love that was revealed in the poverty and simplicity of the Bethlehem Grotto. Saint Francis of Assisi was so taken by the mystery of the Incarnation that he wanted to present it anew at Greccio in the living nativity scene, thus beginning an old, popular tra­dition that still retains its value for evangelization today. Indeed, the crib can help us understand the secret of the true Christmas because it speaks of the humility and merciful goodness of Christ, who “though he was rich he made himself poor” for us (2 Cor 8: 9). His poverty enriches those who embrace it and Christmas brings joy and peace to those who, like the shepherds in Bethlehem, accept the Angel’s words: “Let this be a sign to you: in a manger you will find an infant wrapped in swad­dling clothes” (Lk 2: 12). This is still the sign for us too, men and women of the third millennium. There is no other Christmas.

Pope Benedict XVI

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The Tradition of the Christmas Crib: 

Following a beautiful and firmly-rooted tradition, many families set up their crib immediately after the feast of the Immaculate Conception, as if to relive with Mary those days full of trepidation that preceded the birth of Jesus. Putting up the crib at home can be a simple but effective way of present­ing faith, to pass it on to one’s children. The crib helps us contemplate the mystery of God’s love that was revealed in the poverty and simplicity of the Bethlehem Grotto. Saint Francis of Assisi was so taken by the mystery of the Incarnation that he wanted to present it anew at Greccio in the living nativity scene, thus beginning an old, popular tra­dition that still retains its value for evangelization today. Indeed, the crib can help us understand the secret of the true Christmas because it speaks of the humility and merciful goodness of Christ, who “though he was rich he made himself poor” for us (2 Cor 8: 9). His poverty enriches those who embrace it and Christmas brings joy and peace to those who, like the shepherds in Bethlehem, accept the Angel’s words: “Let this be a sign to you: in a manger you will find an infant wrapped in swad­dling clothes” (Lk 2: 12). This is still the sign for us too, men and women of the third millennium. There is no other Christmas.

Pope Benedict XVI

In the year 1223, St. Francis, a deacon, was visiting the town of Grecio to celebrate Christmas. Grecio was a small town built on a mountainside overlooking a beautiful valley. The people had cultivated the fertile area with vineyards. St. Francis realized that the chapel of the Franciscan hermitage would be too small to hold the congregation for Midnight Mass. So he found a niche in the rock near the town square and set up the altar. However, this Midnight Mass would be very special, unlike any other Midnight Mass.

St. Bonaventure (d. 1274) tells the story the best: 

It happened in the third year before his death, that in order to excite the inhabitants of Grecio to commemorate the nativity of the Infant Jesus with great devotion, [St. Francis] determined to keep it with all possible solemnity; and lest he should be accused of lightness or novelty, he asked and obtained the permission of the sovereign Pontiff. Then he prepared a manger, and brought hay, and an ox and an ass to the place appointed. 

The brethren were summoned, the people ran together, the forest resounded with their voices, and that venerable night was made glorious by many and brilliant lights and sonorous psalms of praise. The man of God [St. Francis] stood before the manger, full of devotion and piety, bathed in tears and radiant with joy; the Holy Gospel was chanted by Francis, the Levite of Christ. Then he preached to the people around the nativity of the poor King; and being unable to utter His name for the tenderness of His love, He called Him the Babe of Bethlehem.

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Homily #101215s ( 13min) Play – The Tertiary Handmaids renew their profession tonight.  Fr Angelo speaks about how St. Francis considered himself the property of Our Lady.  St. Francis always emphasized poverty and if someone said that a house belonged to the friars, St. Francis would kick the friars out of that house.  This was not quite the same however with the St. Mary of the Angels – the friars had to stay there always – not because they owned the Church, but because Our Lady owned them.

Ave Maria!
Mass: OF Form:

Readings:
1st Reading: Isaiah 9:1-6
Responsory: Psalm 113:1-8
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

Audio (MP3)

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